Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.98 Million Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 40,842 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,983,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1,140.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,358 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,424,000. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 888.0% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 55,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 49,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lawood & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $586,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Down 1.6%

LAZ opened at $48.14 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.66. The company has a quick ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.44. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.67 and a 52 week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 in the last quarter. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LAZ. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Argus reduced their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.56.

Lazard Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.